THERE IS A NEW POPE IN ROME, AND DEPENDING on your denominational identity, he hath, or hath not, jurisdiction in this Realm of England. Either way, it says a lot about the differences between the Church of Rome and the Church of England that the former has seen its leader fall ill, get better, get sick again, die, and be replaced, all in the space of time in which Anglicans have been without an Archbishop of Canterbury.
There will be no glossy magazine spreads explaining to readers the baroque processes by which Archbishops are elected, let alone movies starring Ralph Fiennes. But if the clerical leader of the Church of England has faded from public consciousness, its temporal head is infinitely more visible.
It is our kings and queens who…
